Odd Future's fearless leader Tyler, The Creator was arrested in Austin, Texas on Saturday for allegedly inciting a riot on Thursday afternoon at the SXSW Music Festival. Tyler was taken into custody at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and scheduled to be arraigned on Saturday. The arrest followed a show on Thursday night at the Scoot Inn for the Converse/Thrasher Death Match, where he reportedly encouraged fans outside of the venue to break through the barricades. SPIN's Garrett Kamps recently offered a firsthand account of the events:
Thursday afternoon, Tyler incited hundreds of people outside the already-packed venue to break down the gates, nearly causing a riot just hours after two people were killed and 23 injured outside his scheduled show at the Mohawk. SXSW came dangerously close to another tragedy.The trouble began moments after the MC opened his set in the usual fashion — the wrong beat starts, someone yells "I fucked up," they start over – before shouting out the hundreds of folks crammed outside the venue pressed against the perimeter.
"All you guys back there that can't get in," he said — then implored the mob to bust down the gates. There was a split second when it seemed like the crowd wasn't going to do it, a possibility Tyler extinguished as he led the audience in a chant of "PUSH, PUSH, PUSH!"
And just like that, hundreds of people came rushing through the gates.
News of Tyler's arrest follows the tragic hit-and-run at SXSW the night before his show at the Scoot Inn, which resulted in the deaths of two people and ironically prevented him from playing the House of Vans Showcase at The Mohawk. The latest complaint against Tyler, The Creator comes on the heels of a recent trip to New Zealand, where the Odd Future crew was denied entry into the country. Officials there declared them a "public threat", citing a 2011 incident at a comic shop in Boston, where police were called in to address a situation involving unruly fans. Tyler, The Creator has been charged with a Class A misdemeanor for allegedly inciting a riot. His bond was set at $25,000. If convicted, he faces up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine. No word yet on how these charges could potentially affect his upcoming tour dates.
